Lifestyle, Travel, Adventure, Rock Climbing, RVing, blog, and more!

Tag Archives: Travel

Yesterday, I was face to face with a penguin. I was snorkeling off of Isla Isabel, and popped up next to one of like 10 little pinguinos huddled on some not-yet-submerged volcanic outcroppings in the wide wide ocean. With oceans rising because of global warming up to 3 feet a cenfury, I calculate about 30 more years before they will no longer have these little ocean havens safe from the predations of the hunter species, the killer whales, sharks, and Donald Trump Junior’s.

The Galapagos, rather than being a model for the ideas of Darwin, are a kind of the opposite of his life’s work, an Un-Natural Selection – if you will. The Giant tortoises are bred in captivity to be released to the wild, ladybugs are imported to attack a species of furry insect that is killing their trees. Cats, goats, and other “foreign” species are eradicated to allow the endemic species to better thrive.

en·dem·ic
enˈdemik (of a plant or animal) native or restricted to a certain country or area.

All for dollares de tourista, and preserve for all time their idea of perfection. A museum of what they believe Darwin saw at the time he saw them.

When most people think of Darwin the phrase “Survival of the fittest” comes to mind. But what is forgotten is the other half of the equation: Sexual Selection. What species find sexy. Because things like Peacock’s unnecessarily long tail feathers do not a fittest species make.

Which brings to mind the Weinstein’s and ALL of the corporate presidents I worked for had a lot of rumors of “sleeping”on the job, if you will. Taking Darwin’s ideas to extremes: Men aspire to powerful positions in order to be more attractive to females. Maybe this is not in the forefront of their brains – more likely in their reptilian hindbrains. To put bread on the table is the front, once successful it’s putting Barbara on the table.

And then, it goes to the dark side.

In middle managers it’s bad enough, but when you are at the pinnacle of your respective power it is rife. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely – right? Men are assertive because it’s attractive – in general. The dark side is when it is taken to extremes – sexual abuse, harassment – and rape.

This is not to gift them with cover for their actions, aka: I strove for a position of power because it’s my biological perogative in order to spread my genes. There are plenty of decent men who spread their genes with willing participants. I see these serial harassers more as sad shadows of humans who acted this way despite their respectable positions and reputations.

I mean, who wakes up and says I want to grow up to be a CEO? Assholes, that’s who.

I look towards the so-called “primitive” cultures. The aborigines, the natives, and headhunters. Modern world vs “primitive” world. Totally in balance – either grow their own food, or hunt only what they need.

Then, think back to my time visiting the Ouros Reed Islanders of Lake Titicaca, the ones willing to be on display, to wear their native “costumes” and greet the tourists with songs starting in their native tongues, segueing to English, German and Japanese for their visitor’s amusement. When I saw the Ouros leader pull out his fat stack roll to give change, I understood why.

The other reed islands, the ones who decided to not go along with this ridiculousness had signs of normality – some trash, sloppy huts and irregularly shaped reed islands. The “tourist” reed islands were pictures of Disney perfection, clean, orderly, symmetrical even. Hut interiors in museum quality settings.

Totally in balance, right? Well, if you’re not part of one of those uncontacted indians in the Amazon – then you are affected by the modern world.

A quick look back at history, and one viewpoint is that Farming destroyed this balance, led to king’s and taxation and ownership – of land, of slaves. Then the creation of money, then usury and now we have Central Banks, and Modern Pharaohs deciding which third world country would be amenable to some economic meddling. Because it’s not the Koch brothers that determine the fate of countries, but the Rothschild’s, the US and the House of Saud.

Venezuelan Diaspora
In my 7 months of travel through Chile, then Peru and Ecuador, I seemed to run into many Venezuelans. The reason for this is because of their economic disaster of a situation that is driving the inhabitants to other, “better” countries. But, not so long ago, Venezuela was a powerhouse of a South American country, much like Chile was pre-Pinochet.

I can’t help but draw parallels between the two countries. When Chile defied President Nixon, he vowed to “Make the economy scream.” And scream they did, an entire country gone insane, incarcerating, torturing and killing their citizens – all with the help of the Economic Hitmen: the CIA.

While most “reasonable” people say that the reasons for Venezuela’s economic failure is Chavez’s fault for not diversifying their oil based economy, I see this more like an opportunity for the Bush’s to talk to the House of Saud to lower their crude prices to the screaming point, destroy Venezuela’s economy, and make their citizens go to war against each other. Because, they can. Because, when you defy the US you defy the crazy motherfuckers that can destroy your entire country.

I think of the schoolyard joke, ‘I’m gonna hit you so hard it will knock out your entire family!’ Heh.

And as long as we have oil and dollar based economies, then these sorts of economic destruction of countries will continue. Which brings me to:

The Hope of Bitcoin
The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, the used-to-be-richest-person in the world declared “You can’t value bitcoin because it’s not a value-producing asset…real bubble in that sort of thing.” He also famously didn’t get Amazon either. And now who’s the richest man now, Warren? Dipshit says what?

Oracles should remain Oracles – tourist destinations to view oddities, the ancient, where the gullible go to hear the babblings of drugged wise-people to justify their already made decisions.

McAfee (sort of) gets it. He said if Bitcoin didn’t get to $500,000 in 2 years he’d eat his dick. Lately he raised this to 1 million. (Me, I’m rooting for $999,999 in 2 years). Here’s what McAfee gets: set expectations high. Shoot for the moon, because there’s a lot of profit to be had between the mud and the moon, and maaybee you’ll land on top of the bitcoin mountain.

Bitcoin is kind of the digital version of Darwin’s “Survival of the fittest.” Bitcoin attacked constantly by the best hackers on the planet. It becomes the fittest, hardiest stray dog walking the streets. Not backed by anything, no sovereign “owner”. No Central Authority to manipulate or inflate it – distributed, democratic. The Ne Plus Ultra of cash, the Alma Ata of money. It’s digital lucre, the closest thing to money as an idea.

Quoth Warren: “Bitcoin is not a value producing asset” – Like that’s an argument. Earth to Warren: neither is the US Dollar. Or any dollar, for that matter. For the first time in history we only have money that’s infinitely inflatable. Except for Bitcoin. Bitcoin only has, and will only ever have 21 million in existence. The US Dollar is a joke excuse for money. Because one of the defining rules of money is relative scarcity. You can’t use shells as money when you live on a beach, for example.

Unless, you are in the US. Or any other country right now, for that matter.

The only reason US dollars are stable is because they are the lingua franca of Oil. In a way, the US dollar is backed by oil. Other countries must keep stacks of US dollars in order to purchase oil. Which keeps the US economy humming, and brings us back full circle to the House of Saud, the Bush’s and the economic disaster of Venezuela.

The New Pharaohs
The way the Republicans are acting, they seems like they’d be okay with gangrapes on public buses. Create victim classes in which to prey. By the way their so-called leaders, Donald Trump and McConnell are acting, they’d be okay with a serial child molester in Congress – as long as he’s not a Democrat. They’re also okay with a Tax plan that destroys the middle class, creates a pool of servants (poor), and solidifies the haves, the Trumps and Pharoahs iz’all good.

‘Cause what kind of model country would they desire? Maybe modeled on Saudi Arabia – close to zero crime, the lucky ones of the House of Saud treated like the Pharaohs of old, every whim catered to by the poor – which is everyone else.

Modern slavery, and if you steal they will cut off your hands. You can prey on the pretty servant women – because, why not? They won’t complain – well, to anyone that would matter. Women wear the veil, and can’t drive, can’t abort – or even vote for that matter. Perfection to the Trumps of the world.

And for that thief with no hands? He deserved it, right? Well, maybe he was one of the unlucky ones, one of those not lucky enough to be part of the House of Saud, and had to steal for a living. He deserved to have his hands cut, right? So what that he wasn’t born into the right family? Or was unlucky enough to be born during a time when the Congress destroyed it’s middle class – because who needs a class of people who might have just a smidgeon of enough power to have their complaints heard?

I think Trump wants to be a modern Pharoah, and with the new tax legislation, he’ll be one step closer. And who really cares for the middle class? Bernie Sanders? Harharhar.

As long as Trump has lower class servants he can step on their backs in order to reach his palace – why should he care? Abuse of power only abuses the weak – not the one in power – so again: why should he care? And if the last waiter didn’t show you enough courtesy? Well there’s a hundred other starving people to take his place.

And who needs equals when you have a harem? Sexual harassment only occurs to the victim, not to the Pharoahs of the world. They just get to become president! Or the owner of the Miss Universe pageant.

Which leads me back to the Galapagos, and Unnatural Selection. What kind kind of world is being created for us? A world of the haves and the have nots? Because if you don’t “have” something that benefits from inflation, like a house, or gold, or a series of apartment buildings around the world, or oil – then you’re of the to-be-fucked-with class. And even if you do have something, like oil, if you piss off the wrong people you’re fucked again twice over.

Or maybe, just maybe, you opt out. You own a bitcoin or two. Something that is not up to the whims of governments, and powerful House of Saud connections. Something that is unnaturally deflationary. That went from nothing to something. And despite the Oracles you buy and hodl, because it’s the new thin blue line separating civilization from chaos. Just ask the Venezuelans. 100,000 of them reportedly mine Bitcoin.

Because nothing defines money than what you are able to purchase with it, and right now the Venezuelan dollar amounts to a bunch of nothing. Like Zimbabwe, Greece, the US dollar, etcetera.

What of the nomadic life I’ve been living? Traveling with just a backpack, homeless in way. We backpackers think we make little impact, but then I see the towns and cities transformed by tourism, and not all I see is good.

What then? To live the life idyllic, to harvest your own food, recycle your own shit – has it’s negatives. I’m modern man, and I like cities too. I like that I can fly into New York city and order my favorite pirogues at Veselka’s.

Can the Pharaohs not enslave everything in order to do so?

Can we not eat every fish in the ocean, or warm the planet to boil away the islands the penguins count on? Islands to escape from the sharks and killer whales and Donald Junior’s of the world?

Can we not conserve the “endemic” species we have, like marine iguanas, giant tortoises, and humans?

Crossing Borders – Renewing my Peru Visa

I left Arequipa at 7am, missing my 6:30am time because my alarm didn’t go off, probably because I neglected to set it.

I planned on heading to Tacna, the southernmost town in Peru about 135 miles away, get there at Noon, then transfer to a bus to Arica, Peru, about 15 minutes across the border.

At the station, I was just in time to get an Olsura bus just about to leave. Cost at the time: $29 soles. You also need to pay for an additional ticket or tarifa for 2 soles. An additional fee/tax/what-have-you.

The bus was nearly empty, with only about 6 of the seats taken on the upper deck.

I was able to review some of my Spanish audio lessons along the way. I actually enjoyed having some extra time to catch up, ignoring the “Expendables 3” movie playing in Spanish overhead. They actually got similar sounding Spanish language dubbers for the voice-overs.

Arriving in Tacna, I had to transfer to a bus going from Tacna to Arica, which means crossing the street from the “National” bus station to the “International” one across the street. Seems to be an odd way of doing things – I mean, why not use the same building for both?

On this bus you just surrender your passport and take a seat. I had a brief instance of wanting to play tug-of-war with my passport. I mean, the guy didn’t wear any official badge or anything, could have just been anyone standing near the bus with a handful of passports. Felt very naked without it.

You also have to fill out a Visa form, making sure to mark “No” for things like transporting livestock, fruits, or over $10,000 in cash, etc.

Not sure if the bus was simply full, or if be was just doing a random act of kindness to an “extranjero” (foreigner), but the bus assistant let me sit up front next to the driver, while other folks got on the full bus afterwards, sitting on the floor, a few standing.

At this border, the Peruvian and Chilean border officials sit next to each other. The Peruvian guy looks over your “pasaporte,” then pushes over to the Chilean guy. If all goes well, the Chilean guy gives you a new PDI document:

Here’s the thing: no one tells you that this Chile PDI document is important. You need this in order to leave the country, even though your passport is stamped.Peru has an equivalent form.

Another annoying inefficiency.

Not sure what delay happened where, but our bus finally made it through Customs at 4:40.

Even though my friend Yun-Fen was able to get off at the border and get a return bus back,I couldnt detect how one would get a return bus back. I decided to just go the 10 kilometers from the border to Arica, and get a return bus back.

I got a tad turned around at the station, walking out, then back in, realizing that I was, in fact, already at the international station, and just needed to look around.

I finally asked this guy soliciting tickets if he was headed back to Tacna. He said he was, and that it was “Dos mil”, or 2,000 Chilean pesos. Luckily, I had already changed some of my soles to pesos, so I was ready.

The only US Passport in the pile.

He asked for my “documentos” and I handed my most precious travel document again to a complete stranger.

Funny, just the way things work. I got a seat on the bus back to Tacna.

As I sat, the bus driver asked for my “boleto”. I thought the previous guy said I paid onboard. He neglected to tell me that Chile needed an additional “boleto” as well, for another 350 Chilean pesos.

An additional fee all passengers must pay – for some unknown reason

I paid the “Dos mil” Chilean pesos for the ride to Tacna, hoping the border crossing was uneventful.

My friend Yun-Fen was able to just cross the border, then get a return bus, so I didn’t anticipate any difficulties, but just prior to leaving that morning I read a blog where the author said there is a 24 hour delay requirement, before they let you back over the border. I’m hoping this is not enforced, as I made my way back.

One of the things that struck me as I crossed the border is that nearly all the buildings on the Chile side were complete, with roofs.

Wow, roofed houses, whaddayaknow?

That may seem odd to someone from the US, but in Peru many of the buildings were unfinished, with steel reinforcement rods sticking up where roofs should be. Someone told me that he was told that you only paid tax on finished buildings, so that was the reason most buildings in Peru stopped before putting on a roof, leaving the rods sticking up, even though they had no intention of finishing the building. Not sure if that’s true, or not.

Border Problem

The Chilean guy passed my pasaporte to the Peruvian guy. When asked my profession, I made the mistake of saying “Soy voluntario” – I am a volunteer.

He angrily said I needed a special visa. Confronted by his anger, I lost my Spanish.

List of forbidden fruit

I tried to explain that I am, in fact, a turistico, I just happen to trade volunteering for a free room sometimes. It came out broken: I am a tourist. Workaway? Only volunteer trade free room.

He didn’t buy it. You could see him figuring what to do with me, with a line of people behind me out the door, and since the passport was passed from the Chile agent to him, I was now his problem.

I stood there helplessly, wondering what I’d do if refused entry. He finally stamped me with 30 days, which I guess is better than being stuck at the border.

Need to send luggage through x-ray, and declare anything weird or illegal

Well, the bright side is that this would force me to decide whether to go onwards to Ecuador, or just return and renew in 30 days. I’ve sort of overstayed in Peru anyways, time to move northwards.

With only 30 days (a luxurious amount of time, for some), I knew I needed to become more efficient if I wanted to do the things I wanted to do.

The time shift from Chile to Peru whacked me, 6:30 Chilean suddenly switched to 4:30 Peru. It’s earlier than I thought. With any luck I’d be back in Tacna at 5, then back to Arequipa by 10pm. Find some late night eatery.

Claro’s Crime against Nature, or Natural Advertising – you decide!

It finally dawns on me through my foggy brain that I need to go to the National terminal across the street. I buy a ticket on the Flores busline to Arequipa, leaving in 10 minutes at 5:30pm. When I ask when it arrives, the counter person says: in 7 hours. 12:30.

Ugh.

Well, it’s better than waiting until the night bus leaves, like at 10pm.

I pay the $20 soles, another $2 for the tarifa, and way we go.

Midnight rides

It’s 11:30 pm, and I’ve been sitting in this bus for 6 hours. Total, probably 15, with an hour more to go. If I knew it would have taken this long I would have done one leg as an overnight, then stayed in Arica for a day or two prior to returning. Yun-Fen advised me to take an overnight bus. Like she says, “Girl is always right!”

Right.

So, I only have 30 days. But I have already spent 90 days here, split between Arequipa, Puno and Cusco, now back to Arequipa.

How to cross at the Tacna/Arica border:

Get a bus from the Arequipa Terraport to Tacna. Also pay the 2 sole tarif prior to boarding.

At Tacna, cross the street to the International Bus Station and get on a bus from Tacna to Arica. Surrender your passport. Pay the fare on the bus. Fill out one of the custom forms.

Do the customs thing. The driver or his helper will hand out your passport to give the border agent, along with your paperwork.

At Arica, get on a bus back to Tacna. Remember to buy the Chilean version of the tarifa (350 pesos).

Do the customs thing. Don’t say you are a volunteer unless you actually have that special visa. Don’t act sketchy. Don’t volunteer additional information. Don’t make a wise-crack. Stick to “touristica”.

At Tacna, buy a return bus back. I prefer one of the more expensive lines (like Olsura or Cruz del Sur), as it is a long 6 hour bus ride. The semi-cama or cama (reclining) helps alot.

(Optional) Stay overnight in Arica. The way I did it I started at 7am, and didn’t get back till after midnight. An overnight in Arica would have gave me some needed rest, and would break up the journey. Arica is a cool little town, with surfing, seafood and sand – might as well!

I’m not going to make outrageous statements, like “Learn Spanish in a Month!” But I do think you can get to the level of having simple conversations with a local in 5 months, feel completely comfortable in particular travel situations, such as hotel checkins, renting a car and ordering a meal, and even having some in-depth conversations regarding subjects such as politics, film reviews and other conversational topics.

I caught myself having a conversation with a local in line for Machu Picchu, talking about where we were both from, what was the best thing to do early in Machu Picchu, and what we were going to travel to next. I kind of had this Satori moment where I realized as I was talking that I was able to understand, and was able to be understood while speaking in Spanish. It blew me away, frankly! This type of conversation would have been impossible for me 5 months ago, and I realized that maybe I had a method that worked for me that could work for others.

I am not a natural language learner, in fact I started learning Spanish in my 40’s. I tried Spanish classes – getting lost in tenses and vocabulary, even hired a tutor at one point, but I had a turning point when I got serious about language learning, and figured out a process.

Motivation

I think this video has a point, and that in order to make changes in your life – like learning a language, takes more than motivation. It comes down to making a decision, even in the moments of hesitation. That being said, I think having a motivation is the spark that makes you continue towards success – and for me that motivation is connected to running away from pain.

I was volunteering in Chile, and if you haven’t already heard, Chilean Spanish is known to be one of the most difficult to understand versions of Spanish that is out there. Much of it is because of the way they speak Spanish. A Chilean friend explained how Chileans “inhale” the “s” sounds, so “Gracias” becomes “Graia”. Chilean Spanish is also full of slang, and the words are also spoken faster with fewer changes in intonation.

For me it sounded as if the person speaking was gargling with marbles.

But working as a volunteer, I had to understand what was being said – especially in the midst of a breakfast rush when the words became commands, and you only had a half-second to understand what was being said, and take action – to fill breakfast bowls, to refill napkins, make coffee, take orders.

The cook in charge, a short stout Chilean woman, grabbed me by the shirt, pulling me down eye to eye saying, “Escuchame! Escuchame!…” then said some other things I didn’t understand.

In that moment, the pain of not understanding, and the pain of not being understood was the singular motivation that pushed me to become more fluent in Spanish.

If you don’t have this sort of motivation, motivation that came for me from actually living and working in a foreign country – it becomes difficult to create the spark that drives the machinery towards fluency.

Find your motivation.

The Material

I had previously casually used an audio program I liked called the Pimsleur Method – I just needed to programatize it in a way that would lead to fluency.

The Pimsleur Spanish Program takes advantage of a method called “Spaced Repetition” or “Graduated-Interval Recall.” Basically, introducing new words, then reintroducing them later in gradually increasing spaced out intervals. It’s a method of memorizing massive amounts of information, and given that complete fluency involves 3,000 words, this type of method is perfect for learning Spanish.

The entire CD series is in 5 parts, with 30 lessons each. 1-5 CD sets can be purchased as CDs, with #5 can also be downloaded using Amazon’s Audible audio program.

The lessons are meant to be listened to one per day, with the next lesson in the series to be listened to the following day. The lessons are only around 30 minutes long, which means you learn and memorize small chunks of the language per day, which is also known as a better method than cramming a bunch of learning in a single go.

In conjunction with Pimsleur, I also knew that fluency is a numbers game, and that casual conversation, or semi-fluency required at least 1,000 words. Apps seemed to be a decent way to learn additional vocabulary in a way that would be fun and interesting. After using apps like Babbel and Lingo Arcade, I winnowed the list down to DuoLingo and Memrise. Those 2 seemed to be the best of the bunch in terms of an app that could help me learn Spanish.

The Process

Once you have your motivation, or the spark that will drive you to do the things to learn Spanish, and gathered the material you will use to learn the language, the next step is to define a process, or schedule which will automatically give you success.

For me, I was trying to figure out something I could do to help me learn Spanish on a daily basis for 1-2 hours a day.

The method I used is:

Allow myself to stop and start, rewind and replay the first time around.

I would take a break – walk around, order breakfast – whatever.

I would listen to the lesson a second time – this time at regular speed, with no pauses, rewinds or replays.

Follow up with doing the daily Duolingo and Memrise lesson.

All-in-all this took me around 2 hrs/day.

Why This Worked for Me

The initial motivation was enough to drive me to study 2 hours/day for 6 months. Without a solid reason you may not have enough of a push to make the effort to learn a language. For me it was the pain of not being understood.

Having proven learning materials at hand gave me a blueprint towards fluency.

And setting up a schedule (and working the plan) automates the process that leads to fluency (or semi-fluency).

I think it also works because using an audio program is similar to the experience of actually having a conversation – looking at the other person, and conjuring the words in your head – in real time!

What didn’t work for me

Frankly, I hated Rosetta Stone. Sitting in front of a computer while trying to learn Spanish was just maddening to me. Maybe because my profession involves computers, adding another task on top just seemed like work for me. I also felt they stressed rote repetition, which I didn’t like. That being said, Rosetta also has a track record of success, and it might work for you – I just knew it wouldn’t work for me.

Language classes also were not very good for me. I think mainly because of the breaks between classes where I would subsequently lose most of what I had learned from the previous class. Also, teachers methods and abilities changed – some I responded to, while others I found just horrible. I knew I needed a consistent method that I responded to applied consistently over time. Pimsleur, plus a couple of language apps were the ticket for me!

Other Ways to Improve Language Learning

The above method of studying 2 hrs a day using the Pimsleur CDs, and the two apps Memrise and Duolingo is the main things I did consistently to improve my Spanish. Some other things I did also helped:

Watching Popular Movies in Spanish with Spanish subtitles turned on (Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Pt II, etc)

Watching 5 minutes of Spanish language television/day. This was a tip given to me by a Spanish teacher. You get to hear different pronunciations of words in conversations at real speeds. Just 5 minutes – be it news, or telenovellas – or whatever is on!

Being in a country that speaks Spanish.

This last was a great boon to my learning, and admittedly not one available to everyone. But actually having to use the language everyday in everyday situations really cements the usage in a way nothing else can compare with. Traveling through Chile, and then Peru expanded my vocabulary, and made me more comfortable in using the language daily.

But, if you can’t get to a foreign country, you can create your own immersive environment by always listening to Spanish music, only watching Spanish language movies, and trying to interact with native speakers in restaurants, Meetups and other situations where you get to practice with a native.

Conclusion

This is the exact way I learned to be semi-fluent: using the Pimsleur CDs, and mobile apps of DuoLingo and Memrise, then working my plan of studying 2 hours a day. Of course this leads to semi-fluency, why wouldn’t it!

I also had the advantage of traveling through South America, but that is kind of beside the point. I met several folks who didn’t know a lick of Spanish while traveling through South America, and exited with only the barest understanding of a few words of tourist Spanish. Travel by itself is not the key to learning another language.

Programatized effort over time is the way to learn to be semi-fluent.

If you are interested in becoming at least semi-fluent, know that it takes time and dedication – and a plan of action. If you decide to give my method a try, let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Okay, so it’s not the cheapest. I think that record goes to this guy at 37 soles. It also doesn’t cost $2,000 USD as a Brit told me it cost him, over a game of cards and cervezas at a restaurant at the bottom Colca Canyon.

No major hikes, such as the Inca Trail is involved. I also include the train, which if you aren’t shelling out for the Inca Trail is a must – just a classy way to travel. The big windows on the Peru Rail help you see the dramatic mountains on either side.

How I did it is also a more leisurely way of doing things, spending a night here and a night there to break up the travel and rest and relax a tad. I’ll also include the price of the train, busses with some options you could consider that would adjust the cost and be either more or less comfortable. I won’t include price of meals, as they can range from $3-100+.

DESCRIPTION of TRAVEL

I started my travels, as many who go to Machu Picchu, in Cusco. Cusco is where I bought my entrance ticket to Machu Picchu. After spending a night there I went by Collectivo to Ollantaytambo where I spent another night in a dorm of a cheap hostel there. At Ollantaytambo I purchased my roundtrip tickets to Machu Picchu and back.

The next day I took the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, otherwise known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. I spent another night in a hostel dorm room with 2 bunk beds before departing at 3am to stand in line for the busses that go through the narrow winding steep road to Machu Picchu

OPTIONS

I happened to stay in cheap dorm rooms, so different accommodations can change the cost dramatically. I would go to Booking.com, and sort on price from low to high, then select based on Rating and Reviews.

Also, additional nights in either Aguas or Ollantaytambo would drive up the cost. I kind of wished I stayed overnight in Aguas, rather than take the train back to Ollantaytambo, but it worked out okay.

This way I was able to leave my Pacsafe roller bag in Ollantaytambo overnight while I went to Aguas. At Aguas, I was also able to leave my extra Pacsafe backpack of stuff at the hostel there, taking only the essentials (coats, snacks, water, etc) to Machu Picchu. I collected my bag from the hostel prior to my departure to Ollantaytambo.

This turned out great as I just took my extra Outdoor Research daypack (lightweight, waterproof, collapsible, light) while wandering around Machu Picchu.

Bare Bones Method

There are also some low cost tours in Ollantaytambo or Cusco. Look for signs for “Hydroelectrica” where they take care of the car transport, meals, entrance fee, and even a guide for less than $150. Or, you can do like this person did for $116 where she did everything herself. But, frankly, I think if you wanted to go barebones, a few extra dollars to have a tour agency take care of everything for you would be the less stress way of doing it.

Unbeknownst to most people, there are restrictions on what websites you are allowed to see depending on your location. This may come as a surprise, especially for the folks from the US, who are accustomed to being able to view most websites without restrictions. A simple click of the “Are you 21 years old or older” button being the most severe barriers to entry.

This changes once you go to, say, South America, and find that some YouTube Videos, some Netflix movies, and the bank website you are desperately trying to reach to transfer some cash into are all unavailable!

A solution to all of this is to get a VPN. I can only recommend, which is the one I use while I travelled through Chile and Peru: Private Internet Access.

I originally got this not for travel, but for protection while using public wifi at the cafe’s I frequent. A VPN is a first line of defense against the open protocols that reveal your laptop to the thieving public. Just for that reason alone is good enough to get a VPN.

Once you sign up for Private Internet Access, and activate the software, an icon appear above your browser on the upper right side. It looks like a greyed out robot until you activate it:

Click on the icon to select which state you want to appear to be from:

I’m in California – really!

I typically choose “California” as my state, although you can always just select “”Connect Auto”.

The icon turns black to indicate that it is now “On”:

And now, when I go to pay my mortgage, I now see the correct page:

I think you can see how useful this can be.

VPNs have a long history of helping dissidents in various countries get access to the outside world. But, they are also useful for ordinary tasks you are used to, especially for travel. Things like: accessing your bank account, transferring money….being able to watch a music video that is restricted from showing in Chile – that sort of thing.

Conclusion

There are many reasons for getting a VPN – security, access to the open web, etc. But for travel, a VPN becomes essential – for mundane financial tasks, access to films and videos – but also for security. Because the most access to the internet you are going to find are the wifi’s in cafe’s and restaurants. Access and security – big reasons to get a VPN!

I do what every other backpacker who stays at a hostel does: I go to either Booking.com, or Hostelworld.com (or TripAdvisor, etc) and filter on 8.5 stars and above, and then sort on price.

The problem is that everyone does that, and suddenly you’re faced with a completely full dorm room, and companions the like of which you may neither approve nor deny.

The last 8.8 hostel I stayed at had all 4 beds full, one of which had a very loud snorer. The second was next to a busy street with honking taxis cruising by till 2 in the morning.

So, despite their many amenities: “free” breakfast, luggage storage, pool table, foosball, laundry service, etc, all I really want is a clean, quiet, secure place with nice front desk people – all at an affordable price.

Sites such as Tripadvisor, and Yelp attempt to fulfill the Dream of Social Media, (no more crappy products) – the truth of the matter is that once a person exits a reviewable locale, the burning of the bridges commences.

Here’s the thing: you kind of have to read between the lines and figure out what you can and can’t live with. Also, after a place has had a few bad reviews, many attempt to salvage whatever stars they have by fixing their place up. The gift in that is you may, like myself, have a 4 bed dorm room all to yourself.

This place is quieter than my last hostel, and except for 2 nights where I had to share the room, I’ve had the place entirely to myself. It’s like having a private room without paying the private room price (about 3 times as much as a dorm).

At the moment, I’m paying less than $7 USD/night (gotta love Peru!), and while I could afford the private room – like the proverb says: why buy the cow when I get the milk for free? So what that there’s no lock on the bathroom door – I’m the only one here! And so what there’s a drip from the shower – I just close the bathroom door, and I don’t notice it.

Because of the price I felt able to stay longer in Arequipa. I find myself exploring, and spending more at new restaurants because of the money I’m saving by staying at a cheap hostel. And hey, I only go to my hostel to sleep – only occasionally to socialize.

But what I like is a bit of quiet. Access to a kitchen to boil water for my tea. A comfortable bed – and an empty room is icing on the cake.

I did a bit of hostel-visitations, just to see what I was possibly missing out on for that extra star or two. What I found were nicely appointed rooms, cool common areas with ping pong table, shuffle board, etc – and invariably full dorm rooms. Everyone comes for the 8.8 starred cheap hostels, and I mean everyone. So, if that’s what you are looking for – be prepared.

Oftentimes a highly rated place is full, when down the street there may be a 7 star up-and-comer – that is clean, quiet, nice staff, with no pool table, nor foosball – and completely empty!

Read between the lines

Now, you do have to read the reviews carefully. One key is to see if bad reviews were in the past, and newer reviews are more positive. Look at what the people complaining are complaining about – if it has to do with either bedbugs or loud honking in the wee hours of the night – maybe you should look elsewhere. But maybe it’s because the place doesn’t have a kitchen, or church bells rang on Sunday, or no laundry service – or whatever. Consider whether those are things you actually need. If not – why not check it out and see what it’s like.

Tips and Tricks

What I like to do is only book a room for my first 2 nights in a city. In those first couple of days, I go visit a few other hostals that look interesting on Booking.com, or one of the other review sites, but I don’t limit it to just the 8.5 starred and above – I throw in a couple 7 star hostels as well. Some I find to deserve their lower stars, but once in awhile I’ll find a gem in the rough that fits my criteria with the added bonus of not breaking the bank. I’ll book it for a couple night just to see if the reality meets my expectations – and if it does then I will likely complete my stay there. The bonus is that for longer stays, you get to know the staff, and you tend to get treated a bit better – free luggage storage, cheaper laundry service – or something.

Anyway, give it a try and let me know in the comments if this worked for you.

Maps.me could have made my life easier when I found myself lost in a bad part of Santiago. Ahh well, that experience is far behind me now, like 2 months ago, if you can believe it (I hardly can). And, I have also been using maps.me to help me get around parts unknown for awhile now.

Maps.me, if you don’t already know, is a mapping app, much like Google maps, but unlike Google Maps, it has a great offline feature. Using some unexplainable magic, the app pings nearby cell towers to establish your position and provide you with maps of the area. You do have to download an area map prior to use, which requires a wifi connection, so if you are planning a future trip, then I suggest searching for the new location, such as a city, where you will be prompted to download an area map if you do not already have it.

Once downloaded, I use Maps.me in conjunction with one of my online Travel Guides to make the map more interactive.

What I do is find a site I am interested in, a museum, or restaurant, or other local attraction, and once I find that location I bookmark that location by placing a colored star on it.

I then click “Edit this bookmark” and copy relevant details from the travel book for that location. This way I don’t have to flip back and forth from the travel guide to the location, the starred location already has the detail in one place.

On those long bus rides from city to city this is what I do to prepare and preplan what I want to visit once I arrive.

Typically, the first thing I do will be to locate the bus terminal, and the hostel I will need to travel to. This helps me figure out if I can either walk there, or if it is better to take a taxi.

From there, I add museums, restaurants and other local sites.

I use Kindle versions of travel guides such as Lonely Planet, and copy and paste their descriptions onto the starred locations.

Now, what I basically have is a localized map with detailed descriptions. It’s really helpful to have in this format, and I wish there was a service that already does this. Lonely Planet, if you are listening, can you team up with Maps.me – okaygreatthxbye!

Overall Route planning

I also pre-plan my big destinations by starring the major cities I plan on traveling to by bus. If I do not have a map for that portion of the globe I get a prompt to download the location from Maps.me.

But once I land, the once empty map starts to take on colored stars as I add places I either want to visit, or have visited:

Giving certain colors to certain landmarks makes finding them so much easier. You can use Red for major landmarks, for example, green for restaurants, blue for museums – whatever makes sense to you. All of sudden, your map is customized to your travels. You can not only add travel guiedbook information – you can travel notes, memories of the place, what you’ve experienced – whatever comes to mind. All of a sudden the map becomes not just a tool for orientating – it becomes a way to memorialize your travels.

But again, some things that I thought would be useful have really not been, and so were left behind – mostly left at the last hostel I found myself in.

Things I left behind:

Super Dry Travel Towel. Super light, super absorbent…but felt like rubbing a bed sheet over my body. Sometimes you want a tad more comfort, and for me a towel is one of them.

Collapsible plate. Thought I’d use it, never did. Ironically, I am in a place that doesn’t have a kitchen I can use, and this might have been used today. But I am moving out because of the lack of a kitchen, and will only stay in hostels that have one – so no plate needed.

Travel Chess. Small, lightweight – yet never used. I like chess, but not enough to harass fellow travelers to play. Cities often have dedicated tables to play – and while I used to do that, I find myself without the desire to match myself against others in a game. Out!

Windsock for the boom microphone for my iPhone. It’s a tad bulky for it’s size – and I just never used it. Never found myself in windy enough conditions to justify it’s use. Out!

I actually did use this a couple of times, but what I’ve found is that hostels typically have a place to hang clothes, and if they don’t I also have a security cable that can double as a clothesline in a pinch. I used it in this manner a few hostels ago to both secure my luggage to a bedpost, and also to lay wet socks and underwear to dry. Since I have an item that I use for the same purpose/multiple purposes, I let this one go.

Some items, I just lost, like my beloved Outdoor Research Helium II jacket. Probably left somewhere in Arica, Chile. Still looking for a replacement. Also, my beloved Sea to Summit Ultra Sil daypack. I lost this in San Pedro de Atacama. I know exactly where I lost it, as I was sunning myself after dipping into a hot mineral spring fed river. I was actually using it as a pillow. Then, the tour van was leaving, I just got up – and left my bag. Luckily, there was nothing of value in it – except my toiletry bag. The only thing I miss is my compact sonic toothbrush.

New items

As a replacement to my old N-Rit Super Light Towel, I got the slightly larger N-Rit Super Dry Towel in Xtra large upgrade version. Made by the same company, this one is just more like a towel – has a softer, slightly thicker cloth, but still bundles up to nearly the same size. Since getting rid of my other towel (and other items) this made room for something a little more deluxe.

Travel toothbrush that folds into itself. Not a sonic, but also doesn’t use batteries. Plusses and minuses.

Conclusion

Here’s the thing: If I don’t use an item, (or use it infrequently) in a period of 2 months – then I discard it. Other items that get lost is kind of the price you pay for traveling. A fellow traveler after hearing my tale of a lost coat said: ‘I’ve lost 2 coats so far. That happens, don’t worry too much about it. You can always find something suitable.’

And, he’s right.

I’m still looking for a replacement for my Helium II jacket – but I am holding off for now. Arequipa is sunny and really dry. The store here that has Camping Gear has a North Face waterproof jacket, but it’s a tad heavy for my tastes – but may work if necessary. Right now, I have all that I need – and that’s enough.

As I’ve said before, expertise is not just expressed in knowing how and when to use things, it’s also knowing how to do without.

The address was right, but it looked like it was an apartment dwelling,with 6 buttons to ring the residents. I didn’t see any sign for a hostal anywhere.

After rolling my roller luggage in circles trying to find anything that looked like a hostal, I decided to ask these 2 older gentlemen in front of a used furniture shop. They said something about going down the street and taking a right blah blah blah.

I decided to use maps.me and find a hostal on my own.

Apparently, a typical thing in Antofagasta is to list apartments for rent on Booking.com. Not official hostals. About the 3rd hostal, I finally find a sign: “Hostal D’Milan.

The door is opened by a huge Chilean guy named Juan Carlos. I managed to express in my rough spanish that I needed a room. He shows me a room with three beds, and after some miscommunication I gather that I would be the only one in the room. I say, “Fine,” tired of going in circles. After that, he drops it:

There are no locks on the door to my room, or any interior room, for that matter.

At any other time I would have bolted. But my gut said he was true to his word when he said he would watch closely, and that I shouldn’t worry. That, and my cable lock decided it for me.

Turns out, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Juan Carlos and his wife Merlida took quite good care of me. Juan even took me around in his car, showing me his beachside home, and trucked me to one of the sights: La Portada, a dramatic beach with huge waves, cliffs and even Condors circling. That night, we drank jote (Red wine and Coca cola) cervezas including a Michelada (beer+salt+lemon juice), and ate boiled oysters and clams till I could hold no more.

He even took me in his car to get bus tickets out to San Pedro a couple days prior to my trip, and said he would take me on my bus out in the morning of the trip.

Hostal owners aren’t so charitable, but these two were. Don’t let the unlocked doors fool you – this is the place to stay in Antofagasta!

‘Can I have a word with you outside?’ she said, eyes hardening. By her language, I knew I was in trouble somehow. The way she used ‘…have a word, ‘ instead of ‘can I talk with you…’

I followed Alejandra, a slim Chilena woman in her 30’s, long back hair swaying and her riding boots making a hard crack-crack sound on the cement.

I sat across from her at the metal patio table. It was chilly, and I felt my body shiver.

‘We have received complaints about you,’ she said. I was thinking, ‘Whaaat?’ I thought I was very nice with the guest, social without being overly personal. I thought it must be a miscommunication, and told her so.

‘A couple arrived and said you wouldn’t let them stay. They said you told them it was full, but I checked and you still had many beds available.

I remembered them, a couple, huge backpacks, asking for a habitacion privada (private room) with it’s own bathroom. We didn’t have one, so I suggested they go to the other hostel a 15 minute walk away. I told her this.

This seemed to soften her a bit, but she stopped and started asking about what I knew about the recepcion role: am I friendly with the guests (yes), did I turn on the music? (No, no one told me to) Did I take out the trash? (Of course). She asked if I told guests about the town using the small tourist map? Before I could answer, she said, ‘I showed you this before, but perhaps you forgot,’ throwing a glare at me, before explaining all the things one could do.

‘Do you tell them about the tours?’ No, she never told me I should. ‘If you are working in reception you must enjoy being a receptionist, otherwise I will have to replace you,’ she said, giving me a hard look.

I was thinking, so what? I didn’t want to be a receptionist in the first place. ‘You have time here, so you should be looking up things to do and the attractions La Serena has to offer,’ she said. I thought, I am a volunteer working for free, and am here temporarily, if you wanted a higher level of service and knowledge perhaps you should hire someone.

I let her repeat all the things I already knew. I remember Pedro, one of the longtime volunteers saying to me at their other beach hostel prior to my leaving for the hostal downtown: ‘Oh, you are working downtown?’ he said, eyebrows raised. Pedro was a 70 year old guy from Portugal who looked a couple decades younger. He had been there a month and a half, traveling on his rented house money – like me. He said, looking down, face going dark, ‘I wish you luck, my friend. The owner is over there, and…well, I just wish you luck.’

I considered that a warning, but I really didn’t want to know. I figured so many things are due to personality conflicts, or some other individual thing that wouldn’t apply to me.

I should have asked.

I liked being a receptionist, but I had a lightning bolt of terror whenever the phone rang. That meant I had to use my meager espanol skills to communicate. I even wrote down the greeting, so I wouldn’t forget, ‘Buenas tardes, Hostal — —–!’

The other thing was that they only gave me a 30 minute training with a staff person who didn’t speak english well. So, she demonstrated the job using a combination of Spanish and English, and I responded in bad Spanish. Nothing was written down, no checklist to follow, no price list, just 30 minutes and ‘here’s the phone!’

The only thing I could think of was that it was some sort of weird miscommunication with the couple, and said as much, ‘I don’t remember exactly, but for whatever reason we couldn’t accommodate them. But instead of sending them into the night, I got on the phone and made sure there was a room for them at the other hostal.’

Part of me was wondering if this was just a way to tighten up the work. Some sick workplace S&M. But, one thing I’ve learned is to always know you have self-worth, and to stand up for yourself, use your words, and state the facts. If I have done my job, and have nothing to be ashamed about, well then: I have nothing to be ashamed about.

Well, maybe I did something unintentional. ‘I’m sorry if there was something I didn’t understand. But we were communicating in English. But that wasn’t their first language, so maybe that’s it.’ She seemed to accept this, and said, ‘I’m going to Santiago tonight, so I won’t be back for a couple days.’

The next day, I received a whatsapp text from her, ‘We received another complaint, we cannot have you working recepcion anymore. You can stay and do hard garden work for the rest of your time here, or you can leave. Please let me know.’

W The actual F? I thought back on my work time there: There was one time I asked if a guest could help me with a call in Spanish. Another time I stopped checking in a mother-daughter to deal with a couple Chilenos deciding they didn’t want to stay, making the mother-daughter folks wait. Could that be it?

I decided it didn’t matter, and that I didn’t want to stay at a place that didn’t want me there.

Also, I thought back on Pedro’s warning, and that this was probably something that happened repeatedly. Their training sucked, and the owner was a bitch. That’s what I was thinking at that moment. They expected a volunteer, who is only there 2 weeks, to know all the details about their city and all the tours, plus all the small details of opening and closing the hostal, and were pissed off when things went wrong. I didn’t want anything to do with all that.

I just had one ameliorating thought: At least I can get a blog post out of this.

Post navigation

...or Follow blog via Email

Leave Blank:Do Not Change:

Your email:

Advertising

Links on the site may be my affiliate links, by the way. I only link to relevant items, and are things I use and would endorse whether or not I made any money from them. It doesn't cost you any extra to buy through my links, and the small (very small!) amount I make helps me to continue blogging.